KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council-UMSC, the highest decision making organ of the Muslim umbrella body has started discussing the draft amended constitution.
It comes almost a week after the Constitutional Review Commission chaired by Prof. Idris Serugo Kasenene, handed over the draft amended constitution to the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje for scrutiny and final approval. Moments before the general assembly convened, there was heightened tension at Old Kampala with a section of ‘concerned Muslims’ suggesting that the assembly had been illegally constituted.
It was rumored that some of the delegates wanted to censure Sheikh Mubaje, Secretary-General Ramadhan Mugalu, and the National UMSC council chairperson, Hajji AbdulRahman Nadduli. The tension led to heightened security at the Old Kampala-based UMSC headquarters. However, with time the general assembly took off smoothly.
“When we came in the morning, we thought that there was going to be fire in the assembly. We saw documents flying around. But these matters never came up in the agenda of the assembly. At least not today,” one of the delegates told our reporter when the meeting was adjourned to allow members to perform the noon prayers.
Speaking to our reporter, Ashraf Zziwa Muvawala, the UMSC spokesperson noted that the assembly started off with a swearing-in ceremony for 13 district khadis who assumed their offices in the recent past. He explained that the assembly later received reports from the national executive committee chairperson, the secretary-general, and later the Mufti who gave a status report on the supreme council, its activities, challenges and future plans.
The spokesperson added after lunch, the assembly started discussing the contents of the draft amended constitution looking at one section after the other.
The Mufti’s tenure of office is one of the main issues that the delegates are required to critique. The proposal suggests that the Mufti should be at least 55 years old, but not exceeding 80 years and be eligible to serve one 10-year term. The old constitution didn’t include term limits but set the Mufti’s retirement age at 70years.
There is also a suggestion to change the present constitution so that the Mufti is chosen by a college of learned sheikhs rather than by the general assembly. It is also suggested that the office of the Mufti shall at any time be rotational based on the four regions of Uganda namely Eastern, Northern, Western, and Central Uganda.
Delegates are also interested in the Secretary General’s position and delegate’s academic requirements. The proposal also aims to fill up any gaps with regard to some specific groups in society, including women, children, youth, and people with disabilities, whose requirements weren’t taken into account by the 1986 changes.
Prof. Idris Serugo Kasenene recently pointed out that the draft was created with input from Muslims and other interested parties from the seventy-eight Muslim districts across the nation. The UMSC constitution has not been changed since 1986, and according to authorities, several of the articles have been superseded by circumstances and no longer reflect contemporary Muslim problems.
If the proposed constitution is ratified, it will be used as the guiding document in the forthcoming UMSC elections, which are expected to provide a platform for the unity of Muslims. However, it should be noted that the Kibuli Muslim faction has since refused to take part in the ongoing activities.
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